It took nearly half a month for the great ship to approach the coastline, but Ye Jingyu was certainly not foolish enough to dock at Baidi City. Instead, he chose a small wharf south of Baidi City, belonging to Yunzhou, to make landfall. After distributing the treasures from the ship among the women aboard, he disembarked with them. As for where those Eastern Yi soldiers would go next, that was hardly his concern...

After escorting the women to a relatively stable city in Yunzhou, Ye Jingyu hurried towards Yunjing. He was no saint; his willingness to look after these women was entirely on account of Zhuge Siyu. Naturally, he couldn't take them with him to Yunjing. Their ultimate fate was something far beyond his purview...

Half a month later, Yunjing—the capital of the Southern Yun Empire...

Six months prior, when Luo Xiaofeng ascended the throne, in a bid to emphasize Yunjing's grandeur, he had doubled the size of the entire city. Not only were the city walls extensively rebuilt, but a massive influx of wealthy merchants was also relocated here. Now, the prosperity of Yunjing was more than double what it had been just over a year ago...

And as the most bustling establishment in Old Yunjing, Yunman Tower’s business had been thriving several times more than before in recent days...

At this moment, on the third floor of Yunman Tower, near a window seat, sat a man clad in tight black attire, yet sporting a buzz cut. His hair stood straight up, an utter anomaly in a place where long hair was the norm. The surrounding diners regarded him with strange looks. Of course, he was strikingly handsome, perhaps even beautiful—delicate features, rosy lips, far prettier than most meinu (beautiful women)...

Who else could appear in such a guise but Ye Jingyu...?

“Ah, I never expected it. It’s been over a year, almost two, since I tasted Yunman Tower’s roast duck. Truly, the flavor is still this excellent. I wonder how Ling'er has been all this time?” Grasping a duck leg, his mouth smeared with grease, Ye Jingyu mumbled while gazing out the window toward the direction of the Imperial Palace...

He had only just entered Yunjing City today, his clothes naturally purchased with the treasures plundered from the ship. However, he hadn't immediately returned to the Zhenguo Mansion. A year and a half had passed; who knew what state the Zhenguo Mansion was in now...

Ignoring the astonished glances of the diners, he continued gnawing on his duck leg. Just then, a clamor arose from downstairs, drawing the attention of many diners toward the stairwell...

“Damn it! We’re out there fighting to the death, shedding blood and scalps, and now that we’ve finally returned to Yunjing for rest, you say there are no seats? What do you take us Iron Army soldiers for?” A rough voice boomed from below...

Ye Jingyu raised an eyebrow. The Iron Army? After more than a year, what had become of them? His gaze followed the commotion toward the stairs. He wanted to see what the Iron Army soldiers looked like now...

“Esteemed Military Sir, the upper floor is truly fully occupied, we...” Faintly, the waiter’s voice could be heard, but then came crashing sounds from the stairwell. Clearly, the soldiers paid no heed to the waiter’s protests and were charging up the stairs...

The leader was a man in his late twenties or early thirties, with thick eyebrows and a terrifying scar across his left cheek—likely a souvenir from the battlefield. His entire being radiated an aura of lethal intent; he was clearly someone who had clawed his way out of piles of the dead...

He stood right at the stairwell entrance, his sharp gaze sweeping the room. No one dared meet his eyes; everyone looked away. He seemed not to notice the occupied tables, save for the one where Ye Jingyu sat alone...

“Isn’t that one seat right there? Blast it all, he tells me there are no seats...” The leader spotted Ye Jingyu occupying a large table by himself and promptly seized the waiter who had followed him up...

“But Military Sir, someone is already sitting there...” The waiter looked utterly aggrieved...

“Someone? There are four of us brothers, and he’s just one person! Are we supposed to go downstairs? Damn it all... Go on, tell him to move! We’ll cover his bill...” the scarred man roared...

Under the imposing presence of the scarred man and the three soldiers behind him, the waiter could only approach Ye Jingyu with a face full of misery...

“Young friend, as you can see, could you perhaps yield this spot to these military men? They’ve been fighting bloody battles on the front lines and have finally returned for some respite. Please be understanding, and they even offered to pay your bill?” the waiter said in a low voice...

Ye Jingyu remained silent, merely looking toward the Iron Army soldiers. He noted that they all emanated a chilling killing intent, truly the elite of the elite. It seemed the constant slaughter over the past year and a half had honed them greatly. He couldn’t tell if they were his former subordinates, but he observed that while they were proud, they were not outright arrogant. The fact they asked the waiter to approach first indicated a certain strictness in Chen Qi’s military discipline. To mold a group of ruffians into such men was no small feat...

“Young friend, Sir...” Seeing Ye Jingyu remain silent and instead fix his gaze on the soldiers, the waiter’s face grew even more troubled...

“Tell them to wait a moment. When I’m finished eating, I will naturally let them have it...” Ye Jingyu said calmly, showing no intention of rising from his seat...

Hearing Ye Jingyu’s response, the waiter turned back to the leader, his face growing impossibly grim...

Seemingly realizing Ye Jingyu had no intention of yielding the seat, the leader strode directly over, planted one foot on a stool, and looked down at Ye Jingyu from a superior height...

“Listen here, kid, we’re in a hurry. You best clear out quickly, or don’t blame us for getting rough...”

Seeing the leader’s arrogant posture, Ye Jingyu sighed inwardly. These local thugs were just that—thugs. Even after a year or two in the army, that domineering nature hadn't changed...

“I will leave after I finish eating...” It was the same response, but after saying it, he didn't spare the leader another glance, burying his face back into his meal...

“You... you insolent brat, don't mistake courtesy for weakness...” Another burly man with a heavy beard became enraged when Ye Jingyu continued to ignore them...

Ye Jingyu still said nothing, quietly gnawing on his duck leg, treating the group as if they were thin air...

“Damn it, see if I don’t split you open with one slap...” The scarred man could no longer contain his fury and raised his hand to strike Ye Jingyu...

Just as the palm was about to connect with Ye Jingyu’s head, Ye Jingyu suddenly extended one hand and clamped down on the man’s wrist...

In that instant, the scarred man felt his wrist locked in an iron vise. His face instantly drained of color...

(A powerful return, a mighty resurgence, hehe, more excitement lies ahead, everyone please support more!!)